JPS6013885B2 - Method for manufacturing a sterile packaging bag and method for manufacturing a sterile package - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a method for manufacturing a sterile packaging bag in which the inside of the bag is maintained in a sterile state during the manufacturing process, and a method for manufacturing a sterile packaging bag in which a liquid product such as milk is kept sterile by using this packaging bag. The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a sterile package that can be packaged in a state in which it is packaged.

Several patents have been issued in recent years for machines that make, fill, and seal containers on a mass-produced basis.

In the field of bag packaging, U.S. Pat.
No. 6 "No. 3492913, No. 3492783, No. 3559874, and No. 3791573 are typical patents disclosing machines and methods for filling and sealing bags on a mass-produced basis. In,
A series of tubes of flexible packaging material, usually a thermoplastic material, are folded longitudinally and interconnected by spaced transverse bond lines (usually thermal bond lines). After the corner compartment is divided into corner compartments, the desired product is filled into the compartment, and the entrance portions thereof are fitted together again, usually by heat bonding.

In some of these disclosures, such as U.S. Pat. The upper end green can be expanded with a spade-like filler, making it easier to insert the filling nozzle into each corner.

Other examples include U.S. Pat.
No. 91573, etc., after a transverse thermal bond line is formed, similar to the method in the above-mentioned patent No. 3,492,783, the top green of the tube is cut open to provide a pair of free edges (inlets), which are enlarged. It is becoming more and more filling.

Although the systems disclosed in the above patents appear to be advantageous over manual packaging operations, these systems do not attempt to provide aseptic packaging, i.e., packaging that is free from disease and spoilage bacteria.
Thus, for example, when a product such as milk is packaged in this type of manner, refrigerated display shelves and the like are required for sale and the like. However, in many countries, refrigerated shelves are still extremely rare, and milk, a high-protein food, is generally difficult to obtain.
In specification No. 5, a filling section of the filling and sealing machine disclosed therein is provided with a large number of pipes, a sterilizing gas is injected into the same part of the bag 8 through one of the pipes, and after that... Attempts have been made to obtain sterile packaging by replacing the product by the product being injected into the bag through one or more of the multiple pipes, but these have not yet been satisfactory.

The present invention was made in view of the above circumstances, and involves extruding a molten thermoplastic resin to be used as a packaging material into a tube shape through a mold.
A non-contaminated gas is blown into the extruded tube in the mold to create a tube with a sterile interior, and after the tube has solidified into a non-molten state, it is folded flat.
a series of partial transects extending across the flattened tube from one longitudinal edge to near the longitudinally opposite edge, but spaced apart from the longitudinally opposite edge; Maintaining the sterile condition inside the tube by forming a joint line through which the tube is interconnected and extends longitudinally across the longitudinally opposite unjoined opening. A method for manufacturing a sterile packaging bag comprising dividing the bag into a series of mutually compatible bags in a substantially closed system, and the packaging bags being interconnected and maintained internally in a sterile condition. using a filling pipe, inserting a filling pipe through the lotus passage between the bags, releasing the sterile product into the bag under controlled sterility conditions through the filling pipe, and longitudinally moving the bag filled with this sterile product. The bag is sealed by joining along a line that extends and intersects the partial transverse joining line, and the tube is joined in the longitudinal direction of the tube midway between the longitudinally extending joining line and the longitudinal part of the tube that approaches the longitudinal joining line. The gist of the present invention is a method for manufacturing a sterile package, which includes separating the bags by cutting them into pieces.

As mentioned above, in the method for manufacturing packaging bags of the present invention, the thermoplastic resin material is sterilized in a molten state and then pressed using non-contaminated gas, making it extremely easy and more complete than conventional methods. In addition, in the packaging manufacturing method, a packaging bag whose interior is made aseptic as described above is placed in a filling pipe inserted into a lotus passage between the bags. The joint line applied in the longitudinal direction makes it possible to fill and seal the sterile product without exposing the interior to the atmosphere, so there is no need for a special clean room for filling, and filling, It also has the advantage of being relatively easy to seal.

Incidentally, the above-mentioned sterile packaging bag for one lotus may be sandwiched at another location and then assembled into a phlegm roll for sealing.
As previously mentioned, producing a packaging bag with a sterile interior is accomplished by blow extruding the bag body with a non-contaminated gas.

The "uncontaminated" cotton used here has two flavors. Typically, the temperature at which the tubing material is extruded, e.g.
0 to 260 pm is the temperature at which the heat kills all pathogens, so the gas that is blown through the extruder and forms a bubble will not contain any pathogens that could contaminate the tube, which has been sterilized by the heat of extrusion. It is sufficient if it is sterile. In some cases, such a gas may be sterile air, but a sterile, substantially inert gas, such as nitrogen, is preferred. In the second sense, the term "non-contaminating" means that the gas itself has sterilizing capabilities. Examples of gases suitable for sterilization include propylene oxide and ethylene oxide.
A bubble of non-contaminated gas, i.e., a sterile or germicidal gas, prevents the tube walls from touching each other until the tube material, typically polyethylene or polypropylene, has cooled to a temperature that allows it to flatten without sticking. to hold.

The flattened tube is normally fed sequentially in-line to a thermal bonding machine where partial transverse thermal bonds are formed on the tube, but once the tube is assembled into a roll or other form,
You can also run it through a heat bonder later. In practice it is desirable to form partial transverse joints in-line.

This is because it is relatively easy to extend a transverse joint at the beginning and end of a roll, so by making successive transverse joints, the joining line can be extended completely across the tube at the beginning and end of a roll. This is because it can be extended to seal the inside of the container and preserve the sterility of the inside. In either case, the partial cross section formed extends from one longitudinal green of the flattened tube to just before the opposite longitudinal edge.

Preferably, the thermal bond is generally U-shaped, with the two legs of the U extending parallel to each other and joined by a bend near the ends. If desired, serrations or similar separation lines may be added in parallel. A tube may be provided between the legs, extending from one longitudinal end of the tube toward, but not beyond, the curved portion connecting the legs.This structure allows the tube to extend from one longitudinal end of the tube to a bend that connects the legs, but not beyond this portion. A completely closed system of interconnected bags is formed, interconnected by a closed latch passageway extending across each closure.

In locations where filling and sealing of diapers is carried out on a special mass production basis, it may be more practical to feed the bag body directly from the thermal bonding machine to the filling and sealing machine. In many cases, however, the bag 8 with its partial transverse thermal bonding is assembled into a roll or other suitable form and, after appropriate packaging, is delivered to a location having fill-seal equipment. A fill-seal machine similar in many respects to that disclosed in applicant's US Pat. No. 13,845 is particularly suitable for carrying out the method of the present invention.

The machine has an elongated injection pipe inserted into a communicating passage extending across each opening in the unjoined portion of the bag. The product to be packaged, which has been previously sterilized, is then fed through a filling nozzle and filled into bags. Therefore, it will be understood that the bag is sterile during the manufacturing process, and since it is not necessary to open it for filling and sealing, it can be maintained in a sterile state without requiring any special clean room or the like. At the beginning of filling and sealing, it is desirable to first treat the filling pipe with a disinfectant or the like before introducing it into the lotus passage extending across the bag entrance.

Furthermore, as mentioned above, it is desirable to seal both ends of the tube to maintain its sterility. To facilitate the initiation of the filling and sealing operation, the filling pipe may be provided with a sharp end so that the sealed end of the T-tube can be pierced when passing the initial portion through the filling pipe. , there may be no sealing at the ends of the tubes, since the ends of the connected bags, tightly wrapped, such as in a roll, are all sterile except for one or two bags at the ends. Especially if the bag was extruded using a sterile, non-contaminating gas such as propylene oxide, ethylene oxide, etc.
Even after packaging, some gas remains in the tube and escapes through the end bags, which tends to keep these bags sterile, so the ends do not need to be sealed.

In addition, at the start of filling and sealing, some relatively inexpensive bags were passed through the filling and sealing machine without being filled and sealed, and were discarded to avoid actually sealing the bags at the edges where there was a risk of contamination. ■ Yet another method that can be used at the start is to run the sterilizing gas through the fill pipe for a sufficient period of time to sterilize the inside and outside of the pipe and the first section of tubing fed into the fill pipe. It is to introduce. Thereafter, the supply of sterilizing gas is stopped and the product is sent through the filling pipe as in a normal filling and sealing operation. Furthermore, as a contamination prevention measure, an auxiliary uncontaminated gas pipe with a relatively large diameter of 4 mm is installed near the filling pipe, and a very small amount of uncontaminated gas is passed through it to slightly increase the internal pressure of the bag system unrolled from the roll.
Alternatively, the gas may be vented to prevent contaminated air from being drawn into the bag system during operation. The gas thus injected escapes through a waste tube which is removed following final sealing of the bag. Several steps for maintaining the sterility of the tube during bag collapse and filling can be used in combination.

For example, the tube ends are sealed, the filling pipe is flushed with sterile gas before injection, and the auxiliary gas pipe is activated during injection. After the bag is fed along the filling pipe and filled with product, a continuous longitudinally extending joint is formed that intersects below the bend with the parallel legs of the partial transverse joint, and this continuous longitudinal A continuous longitudinal cut is made above the junction extending to separate the bags from the lotus passages that traverse each bag and release the filled and sealed bags from the filling pipe. As is clear from the above description, aseptic packaging can be achieved on a mass-produced basis by forming a sterile body of connected bags that fit each other in a completely closed system with a continuous bag extending across the bag opening. It will be understood that it is produced in

The bag is then filled with a sterile product and sealed without opening the closed system of the bag to maintain sterility and provide a sterile package for the filled product. Next, the details will be explained with reference to the illustrated embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, the extruder 10 includes a hopper 12 that supplies a synthetic resin thermoplastic packaging material such as polyethylene, polypropylene, etc. to a melting section 14, where the material is melted and extrudable. Become.

Generally the temperature is about 150-260 oo. The molten material is then fed into a mold 16 having an annular slit hole 8 and extruded through the slit hole 8 to form a tube 20. A cooling ring 22 channels cooling air to the outside of the tube 28, and a pipe 24 channels gas to the interior of the tube 28 to form a "bulf 26". is a non-polluting gas.

Therefore, in addition to the function of keeping the tube walls apart from each other until the material hardens sufficiently to no longer stick, the gas contains no germs that, due to the heat, can contaminate the interior of the sterilized tube 20. One of the gases that has the ability to sterilize microorganisms is selected and has the effect of keeping the inside of the tube sterile.In either case, the tube is guided from above the guide roller 30' and folded into two Frame 32
A flat body portion 36 is formed by folding between the body portion 36 and between the pinch rollers 34.

The Tsukioka part 36 is then guided through the heat bonding machine by a roller 381. A thermal bonding machine typically consists of a pair of opposed rollers 2, each roller having a heated ramp 44 to form a series of transverse bond lines on the body 36. The body is then They are assembled into a roll 46, packaged, and shipped to a location with filling and sealing equipment.As shown in FIG.
The transverse joining line 50 formed at 01 extends from one longitudinal edge of the body 36 to near the opposite longitudinal green but is spaced therebetween. This provides a substantially closed system of interconnected bags that are interconnected by a passageway 54 extending across the entry point of the bag 52 and along one longitudinal edge. As shown in FIG. 1 and seen to some extent in FIG. 3, each partial transverse joining line 5M has a pair of parallel legs 56 connected at one end by a bend 58. "On the other hand, serrations or similar separation lines 60 extend between the parallel legs 56 in front of the bend 58.

As mentioned above, in order to maintain sterility inside the tube, it is usually desirable to seal the beginning and end of each roll.

This means that the transverse thermal bonding machine simply creates a significantly wider additional bond line at the start and end of the roll from the bend 58 of the transverse thermal bond to the adjacent longitudinal edge of the tube, as shown in the roll of FIG. Thus, the end of one roll is separated from the beginning of the next roll, first along the serration line 60' and then at the bend 58'.
Separation can be achieved by cutting through the wide joint line 61 from to the nearest longitudinal edge. Upon receiving the bag roll 46 at the fill-seal station, the seal is broken and the fill pipe S2 of the fill-seal machine is inserted into the lotus passage 54, and the bag body is pulled along the pipe 62, for example manually.

The same part of the bag includes a filling pipe and a pair of rollers 64 (only one roller is shown in FIG. 1) facing each other through the pipe.

), but it is usually desirable to provide at least a bottom conveyor 66 and additionally side conveyors. These details are set forth in applicant's US Pat. No. 13,845. As mentioned above, the sterile pouches are initially assembled into a convenient form, such as a roll, and transported to a remote location for filling and sealing with sterile product.

However, as shown by the dashed line in FIG. 2, it is also possible to omit the closure following the formation of the bag and instead feed the sterile tube directly to the fill-seal machine.

This mode of work has particular application in packaging on a mass production basis;
The embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is generally more practical for smaller facilities. In either case, sterile product from source 66 is discharged through fill pipe 62 and into bag 52 from outlet 70 .

Various metering devices, such as those described in Applicant's above-referenced US patents, can be used to bag the desired amount of product into each bag 52. If the beginning and end of the roll are hermetically joined for the purpose of preserving the bag 8 in a sterile state, an attachment 74 with a sharp tip as shown in FIG. 4 is attached to the filling pipe 62 in order to pierce the beginning of the body. It may be provided.

To further enhance the sterility of the operation, a sterile gas source 76 is also available before the operation begins.

Gas is supplied to fill pipe 62 through three-way valve 78 .
In this method, valve 78 initially closes sterile material source 68 and introduces sterilizing gas before starting, enters sterilizing gas into pipe 62 and releases it from outlet 70, and sterilizes unrolled bag 52. The bag and lotus passageway 54 and the pipe 62 therein are sterilized by filling with gas. After sufficient time has passed for sterilization,
Valve 78 is again placed in a position that shuts off sterilizing gas and connects fill material source 68'. In addition to, or instead of, the sterilization operations described above, a small diameter auxiliary gas pipe 80 may be used to discharge non-contaminated gas from the nozzle, as shown in FIG.

This non-polluting gas does not sterilize the inside of the tube, but it maintains a slightly higher internal pressure or allows the non-polluting gas to flow out of the tube to prevent atmospheric air from being sucked in during work and contaminating the essentially closed system of the bag. . The gas introduced into the bag in this manner is discharged through the waste tube in a separation step to be described later. After filling the bag 52 with sterile product, the bag chest is then sealed with a continuous longitudinally extending thermal seam line 82 that intersects the partial transverse seam line 50 with a band sealer or similar device 84.
The sterile product is completely sealed within the bag 52. When the bag is filled with products, as they expand, they separate from each other along the lines of the serrations.

Therefore, by cutting the body portion with a cutter 86 along a line extending in the longitudinal direction above the joining line 82 and intersecting the transverse joining line 50, the bags 52 are separated from each other as shown on the right side of FIG. From the foregoing description, it can be seen that the bag body remains substantially closed under controlled sterile conditions during its manufacturing, filling and sealing operations, and thus the present invention provides a method for aseptic packaging of products. It will be understood.

Furthermore, it is to be understood that the methods described herein are preferred embodiments of the invention and that the invention is not limited to the details of these methods and that modifications may be made within the scope of the invention.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention, the first diagram is an illustrative diagram showing the method of the present invention step by step, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing another embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing one step of the method of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a partial enlarged view showing one modification. Vine Q...extruder, turtle 6...mold L 22...cooling ring ~ 2
8... Gas supply source, 34... Sandwich roller, 40... Hot saddle synthetic fiber,
62... Filling pipe, 66... Conveyor ~ 68... Product supply source, 76... Gas supply source, 78... Three-way valve, 80... Auxiliary gas pipe. F'GU] FIG-2 FIG-3

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 (a) extruding a molten thermoplastic resin through a mold into a tube shape; (b) blowing a non-contaminated gas into the extruded tube in the mold to keep the inside of the extruded tube in a sterile state; (c) flattening the tube after solidification to an unmolten state; and (d) from one longitudinal edge of the flattened tube to near the opposite longitudinal edge, but the tube by forming a series of partial transverse joint lines extending partially across the tube at intervals between the tube and the longitudinally opposite edge; dividing the tube into a series of bags communicating with each other in a substantially closed system while maintaining said sterile conditions inside said tube through communication passages extending longitudinally across each unjoined opening. Method of manufacturing packaging bags. 2(a) The method of manufacturing a sterile packaging bag according to claim 1, wherein the step for extruding the molten thermoplastic resin presses the resin at approximately 150 to 260°C. 3(a) A method of manufacturing a sterile packaging bag according to claim 1, wherein the step of blowing a non-contaminated gas into the tube comprises blowing a sterile gas into the tube. 4(a) The method of manufacturing a sterile packaging bag according to claim 3, wherein the step of blowing the tube with non-contaminated gas comprises blowing sterile nitrogen gas into the tube. 5(a) The method of manufacturing a sterile packaging bag according to claim 1, wherein the step of blowing a non-contaminated gas into the tube comprises blowing a sterile gas into the tube. 6(a) The sterile method of claim 5, wherein the step of bubbling the tube with a sterile gas comprises bubbling the tube with a gas selected from the group consisting of ethylene oxide and propylene oxide. Method of manufacturing packaging bags. 7(a) A method of manufacturing a sterile packaging bag according to claim 1, which comprises collecting the tubes separated into a series of bags into a roll. 8 (a) extruding a thermoplastic material in a molten state through an annular mold and forming a tube of extruded material downstream of the mold; (b) blowing a non-contaminating gas into the tube; (c) after the tube has cooled from a molten state to a solid state, it is folded flat; (d) from one longitudinal edge of the flattened tube to near the opposite longitudinal edge, but from the longitudinally opposite edge; The tube is interconnected by a series of partial transverse joint lines extending partially transversely through the tube at intervals between and extending transversely across said longitudinally opposite unjoined opening portion. dividing the tube into a series of bags that communicate with each other in a substantially closed system while maintaining the sterile condition inside the tube through the communicating path; (e) inserting the filling pipe of the communicating path to fill the tube; (f) discharging a sterile product into said bag under controlled sterile conditions through a pipe; joining and sealing the bag, and (
g) A method for producing a sterile package comprising: cutting the bag in the longitudinal direction of the tube midway between the longitudinally extending joining line and the longitudinal edge of the tube adjacent thereto. 9(a) Prior to filling the sterile product through the filling pipe, the filling pipe and the portion of the bag body in contact therewith are flushed with a sterile gas. A method for producing a sterile package. 10(a) The method of manufacturing a sterile package according to claim 8, which comprises flowing non-contaminated gas into the body of the bag through an auxiliary pipe while the bag is being filled.